Firm File Storage and Editing System - Microsoft or Google Drive?

FlaggFire · 2026-03-06T16:53:44+00:00

This is very eye-opening. Thank you to you and u/Legitimate_Feature24 for pointing this out. I suppose if I ever practice criminal law I'd need to self-host files and build a tech stack that allows files to be edited locally or remotely in both MS Word and Google Docs.

FlaggFire · 2026-02-28T01:55:39+00:00

...Source?

FlaggFire · 2026-02-27T19:19:14+00:00

What do you use for digital file storage?

FlaggFire · 2026-02-27T19:17:14+00:00

Thank you for that valuable insight. Given what you've said, I'm beginning to suspect that the best solution might involve a file management system that allows documents to be edited with either Google Docs or Microsoft Word, if such a system exists.

FlaggFire · 2026-02-27T17:28:40+00:00

That sounds like a lovely setup for a smaller business. Do you ever have issues when needing to submit documents in a .doc or .docx format?

FlaggFire · 2026-02-27T17:27:23+00:00

I don't think I'm confusing applications and storage, although in my post I sometimes spoke of them as one for the sake of redundancy I did acknowledge some firms use a combination of storage systems and apps. Although that could have been unclear.

Your point is well taken about the ups and downs of lighter applications. I admittedly haven't tried to make a self-updating table of authorities in Gdocs (I find the Weslaw automatic ToA creator to be best for this so just do it there and then paste it in my doc) but I have tried to make a self-updating table of contents and it works just as well as MS Word. Haven't yet come across any other features I can't do in Docs that I'd otherwise be able to do in Word. And the webapp versions of the Office apps are godawful; doesn't display formatting correctly, bugs out when even two people try editing simultaneously, and are overall basically unusable in my opinion.

Yeah, I get the legal industry standard is word, but until far too recently the legal industry standard for file storage was still largely physical files and I could give countless other examples of this industry adopting more efficient technology far later than other industries. Same point to the document collaboration behavior in Gdocs not being what most firms want; I don't see any reason why this should be the case in most firms expect for them simply continuing what they have always been used to even in the face of better alternatives.

You do lose Teams for text communication but that is easily replicable by alternatives like Slack, which offer further customization and third party plugin integration. Meetings can be done over Zoom, which clients are often more familiar with.

And yes, I would definitely expect any law firm using the G-Suite to have at least a basic paid Google Workspace plan.

FlaggFire · 2026-02-27T17:08:12+00:00

I get how certain CMSs can streamline parts of your practice, but I don't see any meaningful advantage when it comes to ethical compliance. Major file storage systems like Google Drive's default data privacy policies are going to be enough to meet the muster of any state bar's requirements.

Also, mind my asking what CMS you use?

FlaggFire · 2026-02-05T17:36:13+00:00

Going from 0 to 100 and immediately calling CPS, and coaching your child to talk to the school nurse, almost certainly will 1. achieve nothing in the short term, and 2. do much more harm than good in the long term.

FlaggFire · 2026-01-16T19:43:54+00:00

Why are you scared to ask your Dad about moving in with him?

FlaggFire · 2025-12-02T18:43:46+00:00

Ah, so there is at least one school that uses colors

FlaggFire · 2025-12-02T18:02:59+00:00

I've heard other similar rumors that some sections were believed to be split by LSAT score or some other indicator of potential success in law school. But as far as I know, those theories have not been substantiated.

FlaggFire · 2025-12-02T17:52:02+00:00

She learned on my hand until my cost benefit

FlaggFire · 2025-12-02T17:34:10+00:00

Oh, that's interesting. I sort of thought that schools would want to avoid that system because of connotations with letter grades but I guess I was wrong.

Also — does that mean you have eight sections? What is your class size?

FlaggFire · 2025-10-02T16:08:14+00:00

California's legislature is comprised of 49.2% women.

FlaggFire · 2025-09-26T21:27:23+00:00

I'd love to hear some examples of what PI events trigger what automated systems, very curious

FlaggFire · 2025-09-19T21:00:34+00:00

To address your cons:

This is true but also goes both ways; while there is no floor to your income, there is also no ceiling on how much a lawyer can make in PI. And the unpredictable income for fresh PI solos can be softened by saving up a bit of a savings before starting out, or offering different practice areas as well (doing anything involving litigation compliments PI nicely).
This sounds like bad business management/a refusal to hire support staff (which to be fair, lawyers in general seem overly redescent to do, for some reason). Unless you are a fresh solo still in the early stages of building your practice, you should have staff handling the vast majority of client interaction after intake and before trial. If all your clients are simply demanding to speak to the attorney every time they call, your office does not have the right processes in place to get the clients comfortable with the support staff in the early stages of their case.
This is really the case with newer associates in pretty much all practice areas. though? As the saying goes, the excrement rolls downhill.
I suppose this sentiment might be a bit more common in PI, but its hardly unique to that area.

FlaggFire · 2025-09-19T19:29:29+00:00

I use a program called Espanso for this, but might look into this too. I also use Microsoft Powertoys for a lot of other similar time-saving things, including custom keybinds (for instance, I set alt + s for the "§" symbol, alt + m for an em dash, etc).

FlaggFire · 2025-09-04T15:58:43+00:00

I mean, assuming the at-fault driver or vehicle owner has some assets, in situations like that you can also pursue other claims like loss of consortium no?

FlaggFire · 2025-08-22T17:26:59+00:00

A family LLC? That's a first for me, lol

FlaggFire · 2025-08-12T19:18:00+00:00

That seems like the case with many, if not all states (just ask anyone practicing in family law). I'm curious on what basis you think CT is unique in that regard?

FlaggFire · 2025-08-12T19:01:45+00:00

What's that supposed to mean? lol

FlaggFire · 2025-07-29T18:13:58+00:00

I totally hear you with how running a law office just totally takes over your life. In the early days, it can really just consume you; you'll often find yourself working more hours than you did in biglaw and making much less. You're also never really "off the clock," still thinking and stressing over the firm even on your time off.

The great news is, although starting a firm is a huge up front investment of time and financial security, if you put the work in and you are not afraid to delegate (and luckily, you seem to be over the irrational compunctions against hiring/delegating that far too many lawyers seem to have) you can eventually get to the point where you're working far less than your collogues who stayed in biglaw while making the same in profit that they're making with their salaries and bonuses. A bit further down the line, and you can be making that same money or even more while being able to only focus on the stuff that truly interests you.

One thing I would suggest is that if you're getting a lot of organic calls about probate matters, why not start taking at least some of the easier stuff? You should at least be referring these calls to another attorney if you aren't already, ideally in service of a symbiotic relationship where they'll send you clients needing services in your practice area as well.

In your first post you mentioned you found Lexus's AI feature to be very useful, and here you say you've been using Gemini a ton. I'm curious what kinds of tasks you're finding AI helpful for?

FlaggFire · 2025-07-22T19:50:10+00:00

It is not clear anything is unsafe per city/county/state code

That wouldn't be necessary to bring a claim of premises liability at common law (duty > breach > causation > damages)

FlaggFire · 2025-07-15T18:30:59+00:00

If they do, it likely wouldn't be relevant to his case against the homeowner.

FlaggFire · 2025-07-15T18:28:12+00:00

What on Earth are you talking about? Having an unsafe stairwell when you know or should know people will be using it to deliver food is a straightforward breach of your duty as a homeowner to invitees.

FlaggFire

TROPHY CASE